THE SEA SNAKE

Taranaki Daily News, 8 April 1916, Page 5

THE SEA SNAKE

(To the Editor.) / Sir, —The specimen of sea enaka > caught recently at Mokau, and sentjn spirits to your office by Mr. W. Jonea, is identical with a specimen captured.by three boys at Te Henui last week. The latter specimen was sent to the Dominion Museum, Wellington, where it wa* identified by Dr. Thomson, the director, ' as a true sea snake. Other capture* of these rare visitors to the shores of the Nortli Island are recorded by Mr. Cheeseman, Curator of tho Auckland Museum, in former Vbls. of the transactions of the New Zealand Institute. The cause of their migration to our shores at rare intervals, is nftt clearly known at present. They are inhabitants _. of warmer seas and, possibly, the much increased temperature of the New Zea- '..% land seas—s to 7 degrees—<luring the late hot summer may have, drawn, them :. to our shores. The same high temperature was experienced in Australia during \i the last summer. The much warmer sea currents from the Australian seas flow- ; ing north • through the Tasman Set, ' ,; around the North Cape, and spreading .j southwards, has probably carried them ','- hither. Speaking last night to Mr. W. ■;,= Smith, the local fishmonger, who is an °V old and experienced fisherman on the ', Taranaki coast, he stated that iho sea. J water had been "very much wanner" * during this summer. Fish were more j plentiful and caught nearer short. As 'l the shore water cools in the autumn 'jjj and winter the fishermen have to go out j from twenty to thirty miles to a depeer J and warmer zone to procure supplies. <] The presence of sea snakes on our shore* Jj at present may be due to a scarcity of . .jj food i» their native haunts, which cause. ' ?j also compels other species of fteh, ■ In- "• A sects, birds .and mammals in all COIW- ; i tries to migrate long distances in queW ; $ of such. The occurrence of sea •natal j on the Taranaki "coast at the present •;; time is indeed a very interesting fact {>.'* in zoo-geography. I am, etc., ,1 > • '**..■■ i w.vyj, \| \# ii ' aa , , %